Retractable walking beam



Feb. 26, 1935. L. A. RAWSON RETRACTABLE WALKING BEAM Filed Jan. 15, 1934 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 //v/6/v roe:

Feb. 26, 1935".

L. A. RAWSON 1,992,393

RETRACTABLE WALKING BEAM Filed Jan. 15, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Arroervsi Feb. 26, 1935, 1.. A. RAWSON RETRACTABIJJE WALKING BEAM Filed Jan. 15, 1934 4 sheets sheet 3 mm E 5H M. Nw M /& a

Patented RETRACTABLE WALKING BEAM Leslie A. Rawson, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Emsco Derrick & Equipment Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application January 15, 1934, Serial No. 706,685

13 Claims. (01. 74-41) My invention is a walking beam construction the use of hoisting apparatus to disconnect and for use in connection with a vertically reciprolower the pitman to the derrick floor. eating pump, such as is used in the oil-pumping It is the primary object of my invention to proindustry, the construction being such that the vide a combination in which the walking beam is Walking beam is capable of being quickly and easily and quickly moved from an operating posi- 5 conveniently moved from an operating position tion into a retracted position without the necesinto a retracted position. sity of disconnecting. the walking beam from the In order that the features of construction of pitman or any other apparatus than the sucker my invention may be better appreciated, I shall rods in the well.

lo briefly refer to the oil-pumping industry for the My invention is designed primarily so that the reason that my invention has a marked utility movement of the walkingbeam between an opin this connection. I do not mean to be undercrating position and a retracted position may be stood, however, as limiting my invention to this accomplished by one workman with a minimum capacity as various use thereof in several differof manual labor, and in a relatively Short period ent industries might be made. of time. 15

It is present practice to pump oil from a It is another object of my invention to provide well by means of a pump situated in a well below a combination of the character described. in the oil level. This pump includes a reciprocating i h h Sam o p t directly pp the plunger which is operated by means of a string Weight of the walking beam in both an operating of sucker rods connected thereto and extending position and a retracted position. 20 upwardly to the surface of the ground. Mounted I is a t er bj c of y invention to provide in the derrick of the well as a part of the surface a retractable walking beam construction which apparatus is a reciprocatory walking beam which includes means for adjust t e Operating D is journaled on a Samson post. One end of the tion of the walking beam with respect to the well walking beam is positioned directly above the and for moving the walking beam from the op- 25 well and the upper end of the string of sucker erating position into a retracted position. rods is attached thereto. Upon oscillation of the It is another object of the invention to provide walking beam the string of sucker rods is alt'era combination as described in the above paranately raised and lowered, thus reciprocating graph in which the Samson post is provided with the pump plunger and pumping oil to the surface a table upon which the walkingbeam is support- 30 of the ground. The end of the walking beam reed by a suitable bearing block which is slidable mote from the well is connected by means of a thereon so that the walking beam may be slid pitman to what is ordinarily called a walking laterallyaway from the well, .and in whichis beam crank. This walking beam crank is mo-untprovided means for easily and quickly accom- 5 ed on the shaft of a band wheel, which upon rotaplishing this sliding movement of the walking tion rotates the crank, causing the walking beam beam. r to be oscillated by the pitman. It is another object'of my invention to provide It is necessary at certain times to remove the a combination of the character described in the sucker rods, the pump or the tubing from the well, above paragraph which is very'simple and rugged.

40 and in order toconveniently do this it is necesin construction, which canbe-madecheaply-and 40 sary that the upper end of the well be accessible at the same time provide aneflicient manner of and that portion of the derrick directly above retracting the walking beam away from the well the well be clear. It is ordinary practice to tilt quickly and easily, ,thisbeing.accomplished by the walking beam in its bearing on the Samson one man. 41,; jj

post so that the inner end thereof will be raised These and other objects ,will be apparentirom 45 in an are as far as possible in order to enable a perusal ofthe followingpart.ofithe specifica the use of hoisting apparatus in raising the sucker tion and the appended claims-togeth rods or tubing from the well. It is often necesaccompanying; drawings sary to disconnectthe pitman from the walk- In the drawings,

ing beam in order that the end of the beam may a Fig.- 1 is a utility 'view H be swung upwardlya suflicient distance to clear rangement of the parts included H the well. This, however, is a rather difilcult mode pumping apparatus and showing the device'} of of procedure inasmuch as the pitman is usually my invention in connection with tlie walking provided with a counterweight weighing several beam of the apparatus.

hundreds of pounds, which, of course, requires Fig. 2 is a side elevational view partly in section of that portion of the oil well pumping apparatus included in the combination which is my invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the walking beam supporting table and the bearing block for journaling the walking beam.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken as indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a view comparable to Fig. 2 but showing an alternative form of the device.

Fig. '7 is a sectional plan view of the supporting table and the alternative form of bearing block, this view being taken as indicated by the line '7'7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken as indicated by the line 88 of Fig. '7.

Referring to the drawings, and to Fig. 1 in particular, I show an oil derrick 11 which is built on the surface of the ground over a well 12. In the lower part of the well is a pump 14 having a plunger which is connected to a string of sucker rods 15. Surrounding the pump 14 is an oil tubing 16 by means of which the oil is conveyed to the surface of the ground. The string of sucker rods extends upwardly through the tubing 16 to a point above the surface of the ground. Situated in the derrick 11 adjacent the well 12 is a pumping apparatus generally designated by the numeral 20 which includes a Samson post 21 adapted to journal a walking beam 22. One end 23 of the walking beam 22 extends directly over the well 12 and is adapted for connection to the string of sucker rods 15. The other end 24 of the walking beam 22 extends outwardy from the derrick 11 and is pivotally connected to the upper end of a pitman 25, the lower end of which is in turn pivotally joined to a walking beam crank 26 mounted on the shaft 2'7 of a band wheel 28. The pitman ordinarily includes a counterweight, indicated at 29, adapted to counterbalance the weight of the oil in the oil tubing 16.

When the band wheel 28 is rotated, the crank L26 is caused to rotate therewith which serves to oscillate the walking beam 22 through the medium of the pitman 25, thus reciprocating the pump plunger 14 to pump oil upwardly through the oil tubing 16.

Coming now to the more pertinent details of my invention I show one form thereof as providing a laterally extending walking beam supporting table on the upper end of the Samson post 21, which table is generally designated by the numeral 30. As best shown in Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, the table 30 includes a pair of ways 31 and 32, which are conveniently formed by providing a pair of angle irons bolted to a pair of gusset plates 33 and 34, which are in turn bolted, or otherwise secured, to the upper end of the Samson post 21 in such a manner that the legs 35 of each of the angular ways 31 and 32 extend toward each other in relatively spaced relationship and in the same horizontal plane, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the adjacent ends of the ways 31 and 32 on one end of the table 30, such as the leftward end 36 thereof, are connected together by means of an end plate 3'7 bolted or otherwise secured to the ways 31 and 32 to form a rigid construction. Formed in the center of the end plate 3'7 on a median line between the inner edges 39 and 40 of the legs 35, is a bearing 41 providing a bore 42.

The ends of the ways 31 and 32 at the other end 43 of the table are connected together by a 1 cross plate 45, suitably connected thereto to form a rigid construction, the upper surface of the plate 45 providing a recess which cooperates with a recessed cap 44 bolted to the plate 45, as shown, to form a bore 46 which is axially aligned with the bore 42.

J ournaled in the bores 42 and 46 is an elongated lead screw 50 which is provided with threads 51 extending substantially the entire distance be-.

tween the end plate 37 and the cross plate 45, as shown.

The rightward end 55 of the lead screw 50 is extended through the bore 46, as shown, and is provided with a pulley 56 adapted to serve as a convenient manner of manually rotating the lead screw 50 by means of a chain or cable 5'7.

The ways 31 and 32 of the table 30 are adapted to support the journaling means of the walking beam in such a manner that the journaling means and the walking beam may be moved relative to the Samson post 21 and the well 12 from an operating position into a retracted position, in which retracted position the end 23 of the walking beam is withdrawn from over the well. One form of mechanism for conveniently accomplishing this purpose includes a bearing block 60 which I have shown as comprising a casting providing downwardly facing skid surfaces 61 and 62 adapted to slidably rest upon the upper surfaces 63 and 64 of the ways 31 and 32, as shown best in Figs. 4 and 5. Formed at the outer edges of the skid surfaces 61 and 62 at right angles thereto are downwardly extending flanges 65 and 66 providing inwardly facing guide surfaces 6'7 and 68 adapted to slidably engage the outer vertical faces 69 and '70 of the ways 31 and 32, as shown, serving to guide the bearing block axially on the table 30 and parallel to the lead screw when the bearing block is slid longitudinally on the table 30. Any desired form of journaling means for providing a fulcrum for the walking beam may be used, such as a pair of cooperating members '75 providing a journal '76, the lower member '75 being securely bolted to the top of the bearing block 60 as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5.

Provided in the center of the bearing block is a squared opening extending vertically through the body of the bearing block 60 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, this opening being adapted to non-rotatably receive a square nut 81 which threadedly engages the lead screw 50. It will be clearly understood that when the lead screw 50 is rotated by means of the pulley 56, the nut 81 being non-rotatable relative to the hearing block 60 will travel longitudinally on the lead screw, serving to slide the bearing block longitudinally on the table 30.

Means for preventing torsional or vertical movement of the bearing block relative to the Samson post is provided in my invention. A convenient form adapted for this purpose is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Formed integrally with the bearing block 60 on each side of the opening 80 below the plane of the legs 35 of the ways 31 and 32 is a longitudinally extending wall 85, these walls being connected together at their adjacent ends by integral webs 86. The longitudinally extending walls 85 cooperate with the bottom face of the bearing block 60 to form longitudinally extending outwardly facing channels 87 and 88, which are adapted to slidably receive the inner ends 39 and 40 of the legs 35 respectively.

In the preferred form of the invention the bearing block 60 is provided with a longitudinal in the derrick, the respective holes in the block 60 downwardly facing semi-circular groove 89 providing clearance for the lead screw. As shown in the drawings, there may be provided at points closely adjacent the opening a pair of integral loops or strap members 90 and 91 which surround the lower half of the lead screw and form longitudinal bores 93 serving to provide additional aligning means between the screw 50 and the bearing block 60. This construction, however, is of course immaterial, the use thereof depending upon the plane at which the bottom surface of the bearing-block 60 is formed relative to the axis of the lead screw 50 and the skid surfaces 61 and 62.

It is preferable in the preferred form of my invention to provide means for securing the hearing block in an operating position which is the position in which the end of the walking beam' is directly over the well. It is desirable that lateral adjustment means he provided so that the correct'operating position of the walking beam with respect to the well may be easily accomplished in the event that the Sampson post is not exactly positioned with respect to the well when the derrick is assembled. This purpose may be very simply accomplished by providing staggered rows of holes 95 and 96 in eachof the ways 31 and 32 which are respectivelyaligned with holes 97 and 98 provided in the bearing block 60. In the operation of adjusting the walking beam in its operating position, certain of the holes in the bearing block 60, such as the holes 98, are respectively aligned with holes inthe ways 31 and 32, such as the holes 96, or the holes 97 of the bearing block maybe respectively aligned with holes 95 inthe ways 31 and 32. When .the proper operating position. of the walkingbeam with respect to the well hasbeen determined, bolts 99 are extended through the aligned holes in the block 60 and the ways 31 and 32, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and'5, serving to rigidly secure the bearing block, and thus the walking beam against longitudinal movement on the table 30. 'When 7 the correct operating position of the walking beam has once been determined upon installation and the ways 31 and 32 may, be marked, so that when the walking beam is retracted and then returned to operating position, the correct operating position will be known to the workman without additional measurements.

When it becomes necessary during the operation of pumping oil from the well 12 to remove the pump or to pull the tubing, it requires the labor of only one man to disconnect the sucker rods from the walking beam 22, remove the bolts 95, and by means of the pulley and chain 56 and 57 rotate the screw 50 to slide the bearing block 60 and the walking beam 22 laterally, in the direction of the arrow A of Figs. 1 and 2, into the retracted position shown in dotted lines B in these figures.

When the walking beam is fully retracted, as

.just described, the band wheel 28 is rotated until the crank 26 is in its lowermost position, shown by the dotted lines C of Fig. 1, which pulls the end 24 of the walking beam downwardly, and raises the end 23 thereof into its uppermost position. In this manner by moving the entire walkng beam laterally away from the well, then by raising the inner end of the walking beam I am enabled to retract the inner end 23 of the walking beam so that the space in the derrick above the well is entirely clear for the use of the hoisting machinery required to lift the sucker rods therefrom.

I will now describe the alternative form of the invention disclosed in Figs. 6, '7, and 8. The differences of this form from the first described form reside solely in the construction of the slidable bearing block. In this form I provide a one-piece casting 100 having a substantially flat bottom providing a skid surface 101 which slidably rests on the upper surfaces 63 and 64 of the ways 31 and'32. The casting 100 is provided with flange portions 102 and 103 having holes 104 and 105 positioned for alignment respectively with the staggered rows of holes 95 and 96 in the ways 31 and 32, for the reception of the bolts 99 to secure the casting to the table 30, as described in connection with the previously described form.

Provided on each of the flange portions is a boss portion 106 having an arcuate slot 107 formed therein through which slots the lead screw 50 extends. Extending through each of the bosses is a pair of vertical holes 108 positioned on each side of the slot 107 through outwardly facing notches 111 adapted to slidbeam 22 is provided in h form of inveni tion by a pair of upwardly extending portions 112which support bushings'113 journaling a shaft 114 on which the walking beam is supported byv a bracket member, 115' engaging the,

shaft 114. in a position between the portions 112, as shown. The casting 100 is provided with integral walls 116 forming a vertically dis,- posed squared opening for'the reception'of the nut 81 for the purpose described in connection with the first form of the invention.

Although I have herein described two alternative forms of my invention it should be understood that I do not wish to be limited solely thereto, as I am fully aware of various features that might be changed and of other embodiments thereof that might be made. My invention should not be limited to the details of construction disclosed herein, but should be awarded the full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combination of the character described, including: a Samson post; a laterally extending table on the upper end of said Samson post; a bearing block slidably supported by said table, said block providing a journal for a walking beam; and means including a lead screw and a nut associated with said bearing block for sliding said bearing block and said walking beam from an operating position into a retracted position.

2. A combination of the character described, including: a Samson post; a table on the upper end of saidSamson post; a lead screw rotatably supported on said table; a bearing block supported by said table and slidable thereon parallel to said screw, said bearing block providing a journal for a walking beam; and threaded means associated with said bearing block and operably engaging said screw to'slide said bearing block on said table to move said nooaeos walking beam from an operating position into a retracted position.

3. A combination of the character described, including: a Samson post; a table on the upper end of said Samson post; a lead screw rotatably supported on said table; a bearing block providing a journal for a walking beam and slidable on said table to move said walking beam from an operating position into a retracted position; guide means guiding said bearing block parallel to said screw; and threaded means associated with said bearing block and engaging said screw to move said bearing block on said table when said screw is rotated.

4. A combination of the character described, including: a Samson post; a laterally extending table on the upper end of said Samson post; a lead screw rotatably supported on said table; a bearing block providing a journal for a walking beam and slidable on said table to move said walking beam from an operating position into a retracted position; guide means guiding said bearing block parallel to said screw; threaded means associated with said bearing block and engaging said screw to move said bearing block on said table when said screw is rotated; means for rotating said screw; and means for restraining torsional and vertical movement of said bearing block relative to said Samson post.

5. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a laterally extending table supported by said Samson post; a bearing block mounted for movement on said table; a walking beam secured to said bearing block; a screw rotatably supported adjacent said table; and a nut on said bearing block and in engagement with said screw, said nut being advanced upon rotation of said screw for moving said bearing block.

6. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a laterally extending table supported by said Samson post; a bearing block mounted for movement on said table; a walking beam secured to said bearing block; a screw rotatably supported adjacent saidtable; and a nut removably positioned in a recess of said bearing block and in engagement with said screw, said nut being advanced upon rotation'oisaid screw for moving said bearing block. I

'7. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a laterally extending table supported by said Samson post; a bearing block mounted for movement on said table; a walking beam secured to said bearing block; a screw rotatably supported adjacent said table; a nut on said bearing block and in engagement with said screw, said nut being advanced upon rotation of said screw for moving said bearing block and means cooperating between said table and said bearing block for holding said bearingblock in proper position on said table.

8. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a table supported by said Samson post, and having a pair of ways separated by a central space; a bearing block mounted for movement along said ways; a walking beam supported by said bearing block; a screw positioned in said central space, and being supported for rotational movement; and a nut in said space, said nut being in engagement with said bearing block and said screw, and being advanced along said screw when said screw is rotated.

9. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post a table supported by said Samson post, and having a pair of ways separated by a central space; a bearing block mounted for movement along said ways; means connected to said bearing block and extending into said central space for holding said bearing block in position on said table; a walking beam supported by said bearing block; a screw positioned in said central space, and being supported for rotational movement; and a nut in said space, said nut being in engagement with said bearing block and said screw, and being advanced along said screw when said screw is rotated.

10. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a table supported by said Samson post, and having a pair of ways separated by a central space; a bearing block mounted for movement along said ways; means re movably connected to said bearing block and extending into said central space for holding said bearing block in position on said table; a walking beam supported by said bearing block; a screw positioned in said central space, and being supported for rotational movement; and a nut in said space, said nut being in engagement with said bearing block and said screw, and being advanced along said screw when said screw is rotated.

11. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a table supported by said Samson post, and having a pair, of ways separated by a central space; a bearing block mounted for movement along said ways; means connected to said bearing block and extending into said central space, and forming channels into which the inner edges of said ways extend for holding said bearing block in position on said table; a walking beam supported by said bearing block; a screw positioned in said central space, and being supported for rotational movement; and a nut in said space, said nut being in engagement with said bearing block and said screw, and being advanced along said screw when said screw is rotated.

12. A combination of the class described, comprising: a Samson post; a laterally extending table supported by said Samson post, and having walls forming a central space; a bearing block mounted for movement on said table; a walking beam secured to said bearing block; a screw rotatably supported adjacent said table; a nut on said bearing block and in engagement with said screw, said nut being advanced upon rotation of said screw for moving said bearing block; and means connected to said bearing block and extending into said central space and cooperating with said walls of said table for holding said bearing block in proper position on said table.

13. A combination of the class described, com- 7 prising: a Samson post; a table supported by said Samson post, and having a pair of ways separated by a central space; a bearing block mounted for movement along said ways; a walking beam supported by said bearing block; a screw positioned in said central space, and being supported for rotational movement; a nut in said space, said nut being in engagement with said bearing block and said screw, and being advanced along said screw when said screw is rotated; and means connected to said bearing block and said table for fixing said bearing block to said table.

LESLIE A. RAWSON. 

